Running from Oneself
by Ferret Queen Rose
Summary: [KuramaxYuusuke, AU] An experiment gone awry revives dormant DNA in Yuusuke Urameshi, turning him into one of the fabled Mazoku. Fearing new powers that he cannot control, he flees, landing right in the arms of a certain redheaded kitsune.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Yuu Yuu Hakusho is owned by Yoshihiro Togashi and all other copyright holders. I do not belong to any of the above parties. Used without permission, and no profit is being made.

Note: This fanficwill eventually containshounen ai, meaning that therewill beromantic involvement between two boys (Yuusuke and Kurama, in this case.) If you find this offensive, leave now. I will publicly ridicule you if you ignore this warning. (Although to my knowledge, this fandom's pretty open-minded…) There is also implied YuusukexKeiko andangst. Flames will be used to burn the flamers' houses. Hey, pyromania's fun. -evil grin-

**Running from Oneself  
**_Prologue_

Yuusuke ran. He didn't know how long he had been running or how far he had traveled, but it wasn't enough. His breath was erratic, ragged; his feet felt equipped with lead weights, but it _wasn't enough_. As long as he could remember…

It would never be enough.

Once upon a time, Yuusuke had enjoyed running, as star runner of Sarayashiki Junior High's track team. It didn't quite have the same thrill to it as fighting, but it left him feeling both invigorated and relaxed. A state of bliss, of sorts. Keiko bullied him into it after he was suspended for fighting for the third time that year.

"Keiko…"

This was different. This was exhausting, draining, monotonous…but he couldn't stop. He could not go back. Not now, when the creaking of the tree branches in the wind seemed to be whispering her name. Not when the clouds and shadows in the darkened sky clearly displayed her face, contorted with fear and maybe even a hint of loathing, to his mind's eye. Not when every raindrop sounded like the steady dripping of blood – _her_ blood – from _her_ broken body.

Blood _he _had spilled. He laughed, his voice low and guttural, with no hint of amusement. It was irony – cruel, cruel irony. When they were younger, he had promised to protect her. Yet now…

"Run!" he shouted to himself, struggling to drown out the cacophony of shoes against the soaked pavement, of wind, and of rain. "Don't think! Run! Just run!" His feet felt even heavier now; they hurt, too, having become blistered from running so far, so hard. "Dammit, Yuusuke! Run!"

His legs finally gave out, and he fell, drifting into unconsciousness. The state was not peaceful, though; it wasn't enough.

* * *

End Prologue

* * *

Author's notes  
As I have said, this fic _will _eventually be KuramaxYuusuke shounen ai. It's going to move slowly, though; romance is not the main focal point. Chapters will be longer than this one, though by how much I'm not sure. Updates are liable to be slow even though this is my only story so far on this pen name because I have several stories going on another account and they're higher priorities because I've been working on them longer. Anyway, feedback would be appreciated, and it is an effective way to encourage me to work on this. Later! 


	2. Chapter 1

**Running from Oneself**  
_Chapter 1_

_He was suspended in an oversized test tube filled with some gelatinous, olive green liquid, various tubes and instruments wrapped around his arms and legs and jutting out at odd angles around him. A dim glow from the fluid in his cylindrical prison provided the room's only light; he squinted, trying to make out something, anything, that would tell him where he was or how to escape, but what he saw made him retch and nearly choke on the invasive tube funneling oxygen directly into his throat. Bodies lying about the floor around him, mutilated corpses with the bones twisted, lengthened to the point of poking through the skin, and sometimes snapped. Some of the people – children, the same age as him – had blisters resembling third degree burns. One, who appeared to be a young girl, had it the worst – half her body appeared to have dissolved, and her eyes were swollen to at least twice their normal size, her features a cruel caricature of what a human face was supposed to be._

_The liquid wasn't cold, far from it, but still Yuusuke shivered. If this was what happened to the others, well…he shuddered to think what would happen to him._

_After what felt like hours, he heard a sudden clicking sound, followed by the whirring of various mechanisms as a barely visible door pulled open excruciatingly slowly. Yuusuke strained his eyes against the light streaming in through the exposed doorway. The pale, troll-like doctor stepped into the room and flicked a light switch, causing Yuusuke to wince and his head to pound – and was it his imagination, or did the doctor's skin have a blue tint to it now?_

_As soon as Yuusuke's eyes adjusted to the light, he glared at the demon, longing to tell the doctor just what he thought of his methods but only managing a splutter against the foul-tasting chemicals he floated in._

_Doctor Ichigaki tapped against the glass, smugness apparent in his expression, in his posture. Yuusuke responded with a crude gesture, but the doctor paid no attention. Instead, he laughed, an eerie sound that echoed against the small room's stone walls. "My greatest experiment," he chuckled nastily, an ugly grin on his face…

* * *

_

Yuusuke awoke to the faint scents of roses and linen. It wasn't unpleasant – in fact, it was quite the opposite – but it was unusual, for him. His bed sheets smelled of sweat and stale hair gel.

None of that was a dream. He couldn't deny it, not when he awoke in a strange house, in a stranger's futon. Resigning himself to this undesired reality, he decided he might as well take a look around while he was there. The room was sparsely decorated, but the few ornaments were distinctively male, save for the sheets. Oddly enough, they had tiny roses embroidered onto the corners.

Slowly, he sat up, holding in a yawn. Someone had changed him out of his old sweat- and blood-stained clothing. Now he wore a pair of navy blue pajamas that was slightly long on him. A quick look at his right arm underneath the sleeve showed that whoever dressed him had bandaged his cut as well.

_Bleeding. He hadn't even noticed the undergrowth until a thorny branch snagged on his old denim jacket, biting deeply into the flesh of his arm. It hurt like hell, but that was something he could cope with. But he was bleeding. Red, like hers. Like her blood. Like her…_

He shivered violently, though he wasn't cold. It was just…something hurt deep inside of him whenever he thought about Keiko. It wasn't something he could explain. Maybe it was his heart, or what was left of it. A heart that no longer even beat…

"You're up," he heard someone say, and the whisper-soft sound of a shouji being opened. Yuusuke looked up, into a pair of deep, emerald eyes, and he felt a twinge of something in his beatless heart. It was a feeling he couldn't define, something unlike anything he had ever felt before, though not an unpleasant one. What…?

"Yeah, I am," he said, his voice almost unnaturally soft. His gaze shifted across the person – the young man – in front of him, studying him carefully. The other boy was faintly beautiful, in an exotic, almost effeminate sort of way, but there were subtle things about him, like the way he held himself, that clearly revealed him as a male. His hair was long and silky, red locks pouring down almost like blood – no, Yuusuke realized, not really like blood at all. It was too bright, too…too pure. "This your room?"

"Yes, it is."

"Who are you?"

The redhead smirked, looking oddly fox-like to Yuusuke, though he did not know why. "I could ask the same of you," he said, sitting Indian-style in front of Yuusuke's – no, his futon. "Do you make a habit of running around in the rain to the point of exhaustion?"

"What do you think?" Yuusuke half-growled.

"That's a no, I take it?"

Yuusuke did growl this time. "Quit mocking me and tell me who the hell you are!"

The strange boy stood, giving Yuusuke a large, sweeping bow. "My name is Shuuichi Minamino, and it was not my intention to mock you. I apologize."

"Mm, it's okay, whatever," Yuusuke mumbled.

"It is customary to offer your name in response, you know." Shuuichi's mouth quirked into a grin.

Yuusuke had a feeling he was going to hate this guy. "Yuusuke…" He paused. What was he going to give as his last name? Although it was likely too early for word of his disappearance to have gotten this far away from home, he did not know how long he might need to rest in order to fully regain his strength. He answered with the first name that came to mind. "Yukimura."

Another burst of pain to his chest; another memory rising in his mind. The Yukimura Diner – her part time job, his favorite place to visit her, her parents… What would they think of him now? He had hurt her, even after promising them that he never would. They would probably hate him, and rightly so.

He banished those thoughts from his mind. Now was not the time to dwell on things like that.

"Yuusuke Yukimura? Interesting name," Shuuichi said almost pensively.

"Yeah, well, what's it to you, anyway?"

"Nothing, I suppose. Where are you from, Yukimura-kun? I'm sure your parents are worried."

"Other side of town. They don't care – I've run away before." The latter was true enough; the last time he left home, his mother only asked him if he had bought her any more alcohol when he got back.

"Really? That's a surprise to me."

"Why's that?" A feeling of unease was growing in the pit of Yuusuke's stomach, although he didn't know why. Surely Shuuichi didn't…

"Well, most demons can run a lot farther than that without tiring."

* * *

Beneath Makai, there is a series of twisting, winding tunnels that are said to lead a traveler to the deepest pits of Hell. It is said to be so treacherous a journey that only one in ten thousand youkai can reach the end alive. This is a place called Jigoku no Jiin – the Temple of Hell, where it is always enshrouded by darkness. Malevolent creatures lure in the shadows, waiting to feed on unwary trespassers, and there is said to be a wall of fire at the entrance to the demonic castle within that only allows the few that it chooses to pass. The rest burn to an agonizing death.

The darkness perfectly suited a mysterious man called Akutou. No one knew how a mere human managed to brave the perilous Jigoku no Jiin, and few had even seen his face. All the demons knew was that he was no human to be trifled with.

A shadowed hand reflexively tightened its grip around a scepter encrusted with opals and rubies that glinted in the faint light provided by the distant wall of fire. Ichigaki had failed to subdue the Mazoku. Akutou did not take kindly to failure.

"Akutou-sama," a woman said demurely from the entryway to Akutou's chamber. "Is something the matter?"

"Never you mind, Hiyayaka. It is no concern of yours."

"Forgive me. I forgot my place."

"That damned Ichigaki…" Akutou grumbled. "If he wasn't already dead, I'd have him executed…"

"Do you wish for me to fetch Itazurakko-kun or one of the others, Akutou-sama?"

"No, not just yet. I want to see how the Mazoku child handles his newfound power – we might be able to get him to come to us without lifting a finger."

"You are a brilliant thinker, my lord."

"What are you standing around for, Hiyayaka? Get back to work!" Bright red eyes glared at Hiai from amidst the gloom.

"…I apologize, Akutou-sama," Hiyayaka said, bowing. "It will be done as you have bidden."

"Good," Akutou said with a luxuriant sigh, fondling his scepter in an almost perverse way. He loved it so when things went his way.

* * *

Author's Notes  
Hooray for plot. No KuramaxYuusuke goodness in this chapter, but then, that's a long time coming, as I warned you all in the prologue. We do get to meet our villain, though. Personally, I like how Akutou's turning out. I'm somewhat partial to creepy, bizarre villains, though. 

If you spot any typoes, feel free to point them out. I'm posting this unbeta'd, since I don't have a YYH beta reader yet. Concrit, and reviews in general, are my lifeblood. (Flames, however, will be mocked. Yay!)


End file.
